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Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Kielbasa Stir-Fry

Kielbasa Stir-Fry

It's been awhile since I've shared a family recipe with you! This recipe isn't a New Mexican recipe, but one that my parents used to make while I was growing up. It's one of those recipes that when I moved out on my own that I asked my mom to show me how to make.

Stir-fries are incredibly easy to prepare, and once you know the basics of creating a stir-fry, you can adapt the recipe to incorporate other flavors. When I asked my mom how to make this dish, she told me that it is just like making my family's fried rice recipe but just to omit the egg, rice, and change the meat. (I hope to share my family's fried rice recipe with you very soon-- since that recipe is all the way from Hawaii, can you guess the meat??)

Like I mentioned above, this recipe is very versatile. Cook down onions, cook your meat of choice, add your favorite vegetables, then flavor the stir-fry with garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, and some sugar/honey to balance out the acidity. Lastly, serve over rice or quinoa-- you can probably serve these up with some noodles as well, which I haven't tried yet but I bet it would work well though you'd probably have to use some more oil in case the mixture dries out with the noodles. You can really play with this dish however you'd like, but I love the salty bites of the kielbasa.

This is also an incredibly fast meal to make and takes less time to prepare than it takes for quinoa or rice to cook. Joe was impressed how short it took to prepare and liked the meal so much that he served himself three servings so we hardly had any leftovers for the next night.

I hope that you enjoy this dish as much as I do, it really is one of my absolute favorites!

*(If you don't want to use a frozen stir-fry mix, use 2 c. snow peas, 3/4-1 c. carrot diced, 1 c. mushrooms, and 1 small can of water chestnuts, drained-- you really can use whatever vegetables you like.)

In a wok or large skillet, heat a the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until soft and starting to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Add in the kielbasa and cook until the meat starts to brown, 3-4 minutes. If the onions and meat start cooking or browning too quickly, lower the heat a little bit.

Add in your mixed vegetables and cook through but still a little crisp, about another 5 minutes. (Frozen vegetables will take longer.)

Once the vegetables are cooked through, lower heat to a medium-low or a medium heat and stir in the chopped garlic and cook for an additional minute. Drizzle the mixture with sesame oil and toss to combine. Drizzle the mixture with soy sauce until you get the color and flavor you like, I usually put 1-2 tablespoons. Add in 1/2 teaspoon sugar OR 1 teaspoon honey and give the mixture one final toss.